Have faith also in me

FRIDAY 8 MAY (Jn 14,1-6)

Faith is born from listening to the Word of God. But the Word of God does not come to us directly. It is mediated. Today it comes to us through the Word of the Apostles of the Lord, which is the Word of Christ Jesus. As Jesus asks for faith in Him, so the Apostles will have to ask for faith in them. As Jesus attests that He is from the Father and says the Word of the Father, so also the Apostles must attest that they are from Christ Jesus and say the Word of Christ Jesus. Jesus attests that he is from the Father through the signs he does: “So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done”  (Jn 11,38-46). Without faith in the missionary of God there is no faith in God. Without faith in the missionary of Christ, there is no faith in Christ. If there is no real faith in Christ, there is also no real faith in God. There is no real faith in Christ’s missionary, there is no real faith in Christ, there is no real faith in God. Therefore, it is up to the missionary of Christ to attest that he is always from Christ Jesus. He must show that he is never from his heart, from his will and from his desires. He is only from Christ Jesus.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where (I) am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Which way does St. Paul give so that the missionary of Jesus, the Apostle or any other disciple of his, testifies that he is always and only from Christ the Lord? Paul’s path is the highest charisma, charity: “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1Cor 13,1-7). Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality”  (Rm 12,9-13). Living charity in the manner of Jesus, who offers his life as a ransom for the Father’s sheep, each of his disciples attests to and reveals that he is from his Master. Seeing that he is from Jesus, he will be heard and believed, because his Word is also from Jesus and is Jesus’. Every Word of Jesus is given in the Holy Spirit and produces fruits of true conversion and salvation. Showing, testifying and revealing that they are of Jesus is an obligation for those who want to be his missionaries for the gift of the Word of life.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that every Christian testifies he is of Jesus and from Him.